Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Arts and Letters

Department of English

English, Bachelor of Arts


Academic Information

Available Emphasis Areas:

Through this plan, we seek to prepare you for any future that demands competence in literature, language, and writing. Our plans help you recognize the importance of logical thought in effective expression. They also help you strive for more persuasive or creative uses of English and appreciate the truth and quality of literature.

By studying the literature of different times and peoples, you can develop your historical and cultural imagination. Our plans can also prepare you to teach English in middle- and senior-high schools, pursue careers in the corporate world, and compete successfully in graduate and professional schools.

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Arts and Letters

Department of English

English, Bachelor of Arts


Careers

What Can I Do with a Bachelor of Arts in English?

The study of English is more than just literature. Critical reading skills are crucial in any job, and writing skills are in demand from employers in many fields. You can apply the broad nature of the English degree to many arenas, including education. An English degree will also prepare you for graduate study, excellent rhetorical skills are a must in the law profession, and communication skills are vital in fields like counseling and advertising.

You'll enjoy our English department for many reasons--strong undergraduate degree programs, outstanding faculty, a wide range of courses, and more. Our friendly, mountain-town setting gives you the support you need to succeed. You can focus on creative writing, English education, general English studies, linguistics, literature, technical writing, or rhetoric.

Career opportunities that might be pursued:
  • Public relations
  • Secondary teaching
  • Speech writing
  • Web design

With further education, one of these paths is possible:
  • Librarian
  • Attorney
  • Counselor
  • University professor

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Arts and Letters

Department of English

English, Bachelor of Arts


University Requirements

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Arts and Letters

Department of English

English, Bachelor of Arts


Overview

In addition to University Requirements:

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Major GPA C
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
Foreign Language Required
University Honors Program Optional
Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Plan Optional
AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-A Recommended
Progression Plan Link View Progression Plan
Emphasis Required

An emphasis is required for this major.

Purpose Statement

The Bachelor of Arts in English prepares graduates for any future that demands proficiency in literature, language, and writing, as well as general excellence in resourceful, well-informed communication. Our graduates recognize the close weave of logical thought and effective expression, strive for more persuasive or more creative uses of English, possess the sense and insight to appreciate the value and quality of literature, have developed their historical and cultural imaginations by studying the marks of other times and diverse peoples in language and text, and recognize the global contexts of English as well as the social, civic, and environmental responsibilities that come with a liberal education. Our graduates have attained the high-level literacy skills and have practiced the research methods needed to compete in graduate and professional schools and to succeed in the workplace. With our help, they have prepared themselves to become productive, responsible members of the communities in which they live and work.

The Comprehensive Emphasis encourages students to explore multiple exciting fields of English study. Students practice creative, linguistic, literary, and rhetorical modes of analysis, and they have opportunities to engage with digital media studies and professional and technical writing. The Comprehensive Emphasis offers a well-rounded undergraduate experience and allows students to select their own path of study.

The Creative Writing Emphasis provides experience and stimulation to advance students’ writing and reading skills, as well as their discipline and habits. We offer techniques to deepen students’ talents, and we demonstrate how to make writing creatively a part of students’ lives and careers.
 
The Literature Emphasis engages students in the study of the literary arts. Students gain an understanding of the sociohistorical context of literary production and reception and have the opportunity to study specific eras, cultural traditions, genres, and critical and interpretative methods, while simultaneously refining their skills in literary analysis. Students become well-versed in historical and contemporary discourse within the field and in the terminology used in literary studies. This work deepens their knowledge of how various texts (film, comics, video games, novels, poems, drama, etc.) evince meaning by using particular language structures, forms, and rhetorical strategies. Among other widely transferable skills, students learn how to write fluently and eloquently. They also learn how to make effective use of primary textual sources in their analyses and develop a repertoire of skills that includes the search for and incorporation of scholarly sources in support of their own analytical arguments.
 
The Rhetoric and Professional Writing Emphasis engages students with a curriculum that prepares them as writers and scholars. The program emphasizes the importance of critical reading, reflection, writing, digital media, and spoken language to educate knowledgeable citizens who understand and appreciate their civic, professional, and personal responsibilities in an increasingly global community. We specialize in preparing students for intercultural and interdisciplinary communication practices in digital and traditional work settings to further global engagement, diversity, and social participation. Students gain experience with rhetorical theory and persuasive argumentation, social media literacy and multimedia writing, and professional workplace writing through theory-based application projects. In addition, our courses provide a foundation for M.A. programs in rhetoric, writing, digital media, communication, and composition studies.
 
The Linguistics emphasis introduces students to the scientific/analytic study of language, including such topics as how language is constructed, and acquired, and processed and how language use is affected by social and cultural factors, context, and goals of communication.

Student Learning Outcomes

General Knowledge of English

ProficienciesApplications and AttitudesDetailed Student Learning Outcomes for English BA Emphases

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Arts and Letters

Department of English

English, Bachelor of Arts


Details

Major Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement
Accelerated Bachelor's to Master's Program
General Electives
Additional Information
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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of Arts and Letters

Department of English

English, Bachelor of Arts


Campus Availability

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